Dear Don,
Now, I know we do a fairly good job of it, as a rule, but we can’t blame the Romans for everything…
Although they might be to blame, inadvertently, for this. I can probably make a good enough case for it.
I think the problem resides with the whole ‘civilisation’ thing. And perceived ‘progress’.
As technologies evolve, they tend to make our lives easier, giving people the time to explore further than the call of necessity. At the same time, a sense of entitlement to ease is fostered while the traditions of community go by the board.
And conquerors almost always seek to impose their own ideas…
With the rise of Rome, Latin was used across the known and conquered world, in places where there were already written records in many other ‘classical’ languages. So translations and inspirations happened, drawing upon the tales of the classical world.
And why? Because it was easy.
Written records are far easier to decipher than obscure symbols. Easier to understand than learning the language of the earth, stars and stones. While as for the folk tales, the oral tradition that taught by travelling the land in story-form, the nuances and emotion suggestion of words would be lost on invading ears… they would hear only the surface tale and miss its deeper meaning.
So, okay, I’ll let you blame the Romans again after all.
Fast forward to today and technology is making our lives so much easier that I fear we are fast heading towards an era where we let our screens do our thinking for us and cease to question what they tell us… or if there is a layer of meaning behind the words that artificial intelligence must always miss.
Which does indeed remind me of the Journey of the Fool at the stepping stones at Ilkley… where the willingly blind are led by the hand. The only difference there was that the trust 
was mutual; the one in the blindfold placed their safety, in complete trust, in the hands of one whose sole purpose was to guide them truly, no matter what the cost to themselves.
The dog, on the other hand, adept in the art of manipulation, leads a blind fool to the treat cupboard with alarming regularity…
Love,
Wen and Beast x
***
Joining Don & Wen
Stuart France & Sue Vincent
Don and Wen, two friends living hundreds of miles apart embark, all unwittingly, upon a quest through the ancient and sacred landscape of Albion…
The two share a passion for these prehistoric sites, seeing that their potential has not been erased by time, making them as vital and relevant in today’s society as they always were.
Through Don and Wen’s correspondence, learn how to read the clues hiding within the landscape and in the symbols of faith left by our forefathers in the mediaeval churches, stone circles and ancient monuments.
This is the second book in the series, ‘Finding Don and Wen’, but can stand alone. The book may act as a guide to show the reader how to engage with the land in a meaningful way… and how that engagement opens you wide to life in all its glory.
France & Vincent 
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